Nibbles: Weight loss plan works for diabetics, no food safety plan in sight and state-sanctioned weight loss
12-week program helps diabetics keep weight off
A 12-week weight loss program for diabetics not only helped them successfully lose nearly 25 pounds on average during the program, but most participants kept most of the weight off or even lost more weight a year after the program. An average loss of 18 pounds per person was maintained a year after taking part in the program (that’s about 7.6 percent of their body weight) but 55 percent of participants lost even more weight on their own. The program involved a 12-week structured diet and exercise program with no further intervention after the program was done. Blood pressure stayed low both after 12 weeks and one year, and while cholesterol levels dropped during the program, they’d gone back up a year later…
Weight loss surgery needs to be a priority
If you’re seeking weight loss surgery and you live in Canada, you may have to wait a really long time. The average wait time in Quebec for the surgery is five to seven years. There are about 3,500 people in the province waiting for surgery and about 1,000 are performed each year. The government says that number will rise to 1,500 within the next five years, but that’s little comfort for people who will see their health deteriorate in the meantime (thus costing the country even more in health expenses)…
Food safety plan far from completion
While the reports of salmonella contamination from tomatoes have spread to include nearly 230 people in 23 states, the Food and Drug Administration says it needs more time to finalize a plan for improved food safety measures. Even after the details about specific safety measures, their costs and the amount of time it will take to implement them is nailed down, the agency says it still might not be able to provide a budget for food safety that goes beyond next fiscal year. Lawmakers say that’s no way to make the country safer, and the General Accounting Office also blasted the FDA for meeting just 7 of 34 recommendations given to it since 2004 to help improve food safety…
Pink diet patch targets teens
A diet patch being promoted on Facebook and other websites has health officials in the UK saying the device is being targeted to teens and young girls with no regard for their safety. The Pink Patch website says the patch contains natural appetite suppressants that help girls “lose that stubborn stone” and be the envy of their friends. Trouble is, the seaweed and other ingredients haven’t proven effective for weight loss, some who have used it report headaches or just that it doesn’t work, and the pictures on the website (which some say look like girls around the age of 14) foster negative body image. The maker of the patches says they’re meant for adults only…
Japan tells people to lose weight or else
Finally, a crackdown on textround bellies in Japan has doctors giving patients compulsory waist measurements and businesses working hard to get their workers, their families and even people who’ve retired from the company to slim down or face fines. The government, in the hope of saving money on healthcare, wants most men in the country to have a waist measurement of 33.5 inches and women 35.4 inches. The idea is that the number of overweight people in Japan will shrink 10 percent in the next four years and 25 percent in the next seven years. People who are over the waist limit face weight loss education programs, while large companies could be fined millions of dollars if their employees don’t shape up.
(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)
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